Incredibly Stubborn and Increasingly Infuriating
by StrawberryBlonde16
Summary: What happens when Scorpius can't hide his feelings for Rose any longer and some of Rose's other family members start to notice? Can Scorpius convince the incredibly stubborn and increasingly infuriating witch to give them a chance? Is he willing to pursue their chance? Rated M for possible future chapters
1. Chapter 1

"Lily, you've done it again!" Rose smoothed the front of her forest green dress down along her hips. The dress hugged her curves in a very flattering way and fluttered down past her hips to hang delicately around her knees. Lily had made quite a name for herself ever since she started working for Madam Malkin's dress robes shop and was allowed to branch out with her designs. This dress was no exception. Rose was often more at home in her jeans or healer's scrubs, but looking at herself in the mirror wearing this dress made a smile creep across her face. She spun to face her cousin grinning broadly.

"You're worth it Rosie! It's not every day that a witch turns 27!" Lily smiled and crossed the few steps between herself and her cousin throwing her arms around Rose's waist. "Green is your favorite color and just happens to look amazing on you, Rose you look wonderful in this dress." Lily smiled warmly as the two turned to look at themselves reflected in the mirror in front of them.

Rose stood close to 5 foot 8 with bright copper gold curls and long legs with ample curves that were often the cause of her self-conscious thoughts and insecurities while Lily stood closer to 5 foot 4 and was slight and slim and almost pixie like in appearance with deep auburn hair. The two barely looked related but they had been thick as thieves ever since they moved in together after they both left Hogwarts. While at Hogwarts they often ran in different circles, Lily preferring her pack of friends and Rose often being found with Al Potter and Scorpius Malfoy when she wasn't with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The two had found solace in each other after Hogwarts despite the small age difference between them, they both knew what it felt like to grow up in famous families and often have an unfair spotlight shining down on them. Lily was all smiles and bubbles while Rose was all snark and sharp wit, but somehow the two complimented each other and they grew closer and closer as they had settled into the routine of living together. Now here they were at one of their favorite childhood places, the Burrow, to celebrate Rose's birthday. They gave each other one last squeeze then stepped away.

"You look great as well Lily, I mean you always do," Rose laughed as she watched her cousin primping in the mirror.

"Oh, you do flatter me!" Lily grinned at Rose through her reflection, "But thank you, happy birthday Rosie!"

And then the door swung open loudly behind them. "Aren't you two ready yet?!" Al Potter waltzed into the room, black hair looking effortlessly windblown in a way that both Rose and Lily knew was far from actually effortless.

"Gee Al, I'm really glad you know how to knock, you are just barbaric sometimes, you know that right?" Rose smiled as she levelled her comment at one of her many cousins.

Al smiled lopsidedly at her, "oh my dear Rose," He threw an arm around her shoulders, "I was just excited to see the birthday girl on her special day!" He took a moment to look her up and down, "Wow, you look great!"

"Always the tone of surprise with you Al!" Rose smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist leaning in as he squeezed her shoulders. Al looked like the spitting image of his father except for the smattering of freckles that dusted his nose and cheeks, those were a gift from his Weasley genes. Lily rolled her eyes at her two relatives, they were still practically inseparable.

"Rose, you said you didn't want birthday presents, so we're having a party for you that is going to be starting out in the garden any minute." Al started but was quickly interrupted by Rose sliding out from under his arm and facing him.

"And this party qualifies as a present, does it not?" Rose said as more of a statement than a question.

"Rose we-"

"Al I said I didn't want presents because I didn't want anyone making a big fuss over me." Rose crossed her arms in front of her, always ready to square off even if it was just to give Al a hard time.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Three pairs of eyes swung towards the door that remained open from Al's dramatic entrance. Scorpius Malfoy stood leaning on the doorframe smirking at all three of them. "Rosie stop torturing him, you know you've been looking forward to this party too." He grinned at his friends.

Rose rolled her eyes but smiled back at the tall blonde in the doorway. "Oh come off it, you know it was just a bit of fun at Al's expense!" She let her gaze travel over Scorpius for a moment, he was all height and lean muscle wrapped in dark jeans and a grey button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

"Yes well, Al typically deserves it," Scorpius shrugged and moved into the room. He clapped Al on the shoulder then moved to Lily, "Hi Lils, long time no see!"

Lily reached up and gave the taller man a hug, he had been hanging around with Al and Rose for so long that Lily practically thought of him as another brother in the giant heard of Weasley/Potter relatives. "Well Scorp if you would come home for Sunday dinners once in a while then you'd see me wouldn't you?" She scolded him, "And when you come back for Sunday dinners bring Al too, he doesn't come home for them either and you two should take some time off all your auror work once in a while." She crossed her arms in front of her in a way that was far too reminiscent of grandma Molly.

Al ruffled a hand through his messy hair, "Oh Lily you know it's not that easy to have time off any more, besides Rose doesn't come home for Sunday dinners either!" Gesturing briefly at Rose he shrugged sheepishly when a glare was levelled in his direction.

"Real mature Al, throw me under the knight bus why don't you!"

Scorpius sighed and leaned against the dresser that stood in front of the window watching his friends bicker, this was a scenario he was very much used to. His gaze wandered over to Rose, the birthday girl and woman of the hour. The green of her dress matched perfectly the green of her eyes. It was a color that Scorpius often thought about, this rich sparkling emerald that could catch fire with excitement and passion in an instant. Her copper curls coiled madly around her face and shoulders, he loved when she wore her hair down; all too often she pulled it into a bun that it tried to escape from but this wild mane of fiery curls made him almost desperate to run his hands through her tresses. His high cheekbones colored slightly at this train of thought as he allowed his eyes to trail further down Rose's figure. Her hourglass curves were very evident in the delicately fluttering dress. His eyes traced the freckles that led from her collarbone down towards the V in the front of her dress. Before he could let his imagination run wild he heard a voice clear next to him, looking down he met Lily's hazel eyes as they studied his own.

"Have anything you care to tell me Scorpius?" Lily asked ask Al and Rose continued to bicker near them, completely oblivious to the current exchange.

"Lily, I've no idea what you're talking about." Scorpius looked away from her searching gaze and did his best to not let his own gaze rest on Rose again.

Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the dresser next to him, "How about you explain to me why you're looking at Rose like you'd like to see her out of the dress I made for her?" She smirked slightly as Scorpius stiffened next to her.

He was saved from answering as several pairs of feet thundered up the stairs with a loud shout of "ROSIE!" echoing along with them. Several seconds later James, Fred, and Teddy burst in through the door. James reached Rose first and swept her up and spun her around before finally setting the laughing redhead back down on her feet.

The three echoed out of tune and sang "Happy Birthday" to her as they passed her a bottle of firewhiskey. Fred and Teddy conjured glasses and passed them around. As Rose poured a small amount of whiskey in each glass, Hugo wandered in and took up a glass of his own.

"Cheers birthday girl!" Teddy raised his glass to be met by the rest of the room doing the same.

Rose took a brief moment to glance around at her circle of supporters, these people she grew up with and grew to love as not just family but as her closest friends and confidantes. Her face broke into a wide smile as she raised her glass in the air and cried "Cheers!" then downed the entirety of her drink. The rest followed suit. Scorpius slowly tipped his whiskey into his mouth as he watched Rose out of the corner of his eye. Her green eyes sparkled and for a second they flicked in his direction, holding his gaze for a moment. In that moment, her bright smile seemed just for him.

Fred drew her attention away but saying, "Now Rosie, you made us promise not to get you gifts if we threw a party for you instead, now how about we go join that party downstairs?" He moved to steer her towards the doorway. Soon she was marched down the stairs to the yard bustling with activity and music. Scorpius made a point of avoiding Lily's questioning gaze as he trailed behind the other men filing down the stairs behind Rose.

Lily whispered to him as he walked past her, "You and I will talk about this later Scorpius!" She jabbed him in the ribs for good measure.

Some time later on, Rose had had several drinks. She was weaving and bobbing along to the music in between being dragged off to chat with an old friend of her mum's or her dad's. She had just left her Uncle Harry and her dad and wandered back onto the dance floor. She twirled around in a world of her own, as she glanced around the crowd of people she found Scorpius leaning against one of the poles of the tent that had been put up in the backyard of the Burrow. He stood holding a glass of whiskey pretending to listen to Al's conversation with Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie. His stormy grey eyes never strayed from her movements around the makeshift dance floor. She knew she should be curious about the way he was looking at her right now, concerned even since this behavior was out of character for the tall blonde. She knew this, but the rational side of her mind was being quieted by the warm firewhiskey and the intoxicating beat of the music. She met his gaze again and held it for as long as she dared as she moved slightly to the music.

The two of them had flirted harmlessly in the past. They were never serious interactions but Rose would be lying to herself if she said she had never thought of the two of them together, with much less clothes on. She grew up with him and watched him become a highly trained auror. She knew she should think of him as another brother or cousin since she had shared so many childhood memories with him being included on their family pranks and gatherings, but somehow there was always some unspoken tension between them. They always enjoyed riling each other up, and if she was honest with herself, she enjoyed it when he smirked at her and called her "feisty." There was always an edge to their words when they bickered now, an underlying desire to best the other. Always an underlying desire. She glanced back to where he had been standing two minutes before, but his tall silhouette was no longer there.

Suddenly the music quieted and she looked around quizzically. Lily bounced over to her and drew her attention towards the back porch which stood slightly higher than the rest of the backyard. Rose saw Al standing with a microphone in front of James, Teddy, Hugo, Fred and Scorpius. The men all glanced a bit nervously at one another but grinned at Rose. Al tapped the microphone to call everyone to attention.

"Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying the party!" He started smiling, "Rosie this whole party is for you, we know you didn't want anything for your birthday but we also know how much you love all of our friends and family which is why we brought everyone together to celebrate you." At this a cheer with raised glasses spread throughout the crowd, but Al raised a hand to pause their celebration. "You know that you're one of my best friends, and I think the same goes for all of us up here," He gestured at the men behind him. "Which is why we're about to do something that we've never done before, Rose I present to you live in public for the first time, The Bonfire Boys." Al stepped back to join the rest and picked up his guitar.

Rose laughed and grinned madly as she watched them on the porch. Teddy had brought a harmonica out of his pocket, James, Al and Scorpius had picked up guitars, and Fred and Hugo brought out small drums. Microphones were charmed to hover in front of them. Rose watched with rapt attention as they started playing one of her favorite songs, a song about a man who was separated from his true love and was trying to get back to her, his English Rose. It was a well-known fact that Rose loved music and loved singing, it was also a well-known fact in the family that she could barely carry a tune for anything and never had the patience to learn an instrument. Many years ago when they were 12-14 years old James, Fred, Al, Hugo and Scorpius had decided that they would form a band, they never got any further than playing around a bonfire in the backyard during the summers, but Rose loved listening to them jam and goof around by the fire. When Teddy was visiting he would always join in and he had coined the name "The Bonfire Boys."

She swayed as they sang and kept time with their feet tapping along against the wooden boards of the porch. Rose allowed her gaze to pass from one man to the next, they all looked so happy and seeing them smile and enjoy themselves transported her back to their childhood of running wild all summer outside of the Burrow. She allowed herself to pause on Scorpius, he stood out like a sore thumb with his golden blonde hair in a sea of raven and red. But his demeanor made him fit right in, he was part of their family and part of their inner circle. His grey eyes met hers as he continued to strum his guitar next to Albus. He leaned closer to the microphone, gaze never straying from hers, as he sang the last few lines of the song, singing "And my heart still beats, for my home and my English Rose." He winked at her before finally breaking eye contact.

The six men took a bow and allowed their friends and family to clap for them. Rose turned to look at Lily with a huge smile across her face, "Did you know they were going to do that?"

"Of course I did! They've been practicing for weeks, they know how much you always loved listening to them play around the fire." Lily smiled and pulled Rose into a hug.

Rose squeezed her cousin tight for a moment then sped off towards the porch. She came to James and Fred first and wrapped an arm around each of them, hugging them tightly. She then jumped and threw her arms around Hugo, much to his disgruntled dismay, "Rose geroff!" Never one for public displays of affection he did his best to shake his sister off. Teddy was soon grabbed in a hug. Rose practically skipped to where Al and Scorpius were standing and hugged them both planting a kiss on each of their cheeks. Scorpius tried desperately to keep a flush from becoming too noticeable on his cheeks following the kiss.

"You guys are seriously the best, that was amazing!" Rose gasped as she sandwiched herself between the two wrapping an arm around each of their waists.

Al ran a hand through his messy hair and shrugged, "Just don't expect it every year alright?"

"Besides, for someone who wants to act like she's all clever wit, don't you think that song is a bit obvious?" Scorpius smirked down at her, unable to help himself from getting a rise out of her, "I mean it's about an English Rose, and you're English and your name is Rose… bit on the nose isn't it?" He punctuated his thought by tapping the end of her nose with his finger and waggling one eyebrow at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then shoved him hard enough that he stumbled a few steps backward, earning roars of laughter from those around him. Scorpius couldn't help but grin, earning a smile from Rose as she burst into laughter as well.

The night was dwindling down and there remained a small group sitting outside on the porch of the burrow, nursing drinks slowly. Several candles were lit illuminating the small group huddled under the summer stars. Rose was dancing and being spun around by Teddy and Fred as music played from a small radio nearby. Hugo, Al and James sat discussing the latest quidditch news and the recent player trades to James' quidditch team Puddlemere United. Scorpius sat nearby, holding an empty glass and trying not to be obvious in his observation of Rose.

He watched as she spun around dancing with her cousins. Her dress floated delicately around her knees as her barefeet kept time with the song. Her smile was infectious and despite being unable to carry a tune her voice was the only thing he could hear in his ears as she sang along to the radio. His many firewhiskey's muddled his thoughts and he spun his glass absentmindedly in his hand as he watched her copper curls dance in the moonlight. He was startled from his copper and green tinged daze by his glass becoming heavier in his hand. Lily poured more whiskey into his glass and pulled a chair up next to him.

"So, anything you want to tell me?" Lily curled her legs up underneath her on the chair and rested her chin on her palm as her elbow rested on an armrest. Her other hand held a glass of whiskey.

Scorpius glanced at her for a moment then looked out across the darkened backyard. "Lily, please don't start." He had long since known that when Lily had her mind on something, she could wheedle information out of anyone if she wanted to. He took a sip from his glass and steadfastly refused to meet her gaze.

Lily studied his face, he tried to remain impassive, acting aloof and unconcerned. "Scorp, talk to me. You've barely been able to keep your eyes off of Rose all day." Scorpius still didn't budge or turn his head despite the peal of laughter that traveled over to them from where Rose danced with Teddy and Fred clapped his hands keeping time. Lily hit his arm lightly, "Talk to me!"

Scorpius let out a heavy sigh and faced the woman next to him. Her hazel eyes narrowed as she studied him. "Lily, I'm not going to do anything about it so just drop it please." He downed the rest of his drink and turned to watch Rose again. She was attempting to drag Al up out of his seat to dance with her.

"And why the hell wouldn't you do something!" Lily said louder than Scorpius was comfortable with. At his sharp glare she lowered her voice. "You've been staring at Rose like a starving man stares at a buffet!" At this Scorpius laughed loudly earning himself an impish grin from Lily. "I've always wondered why the two of you have never gotten together." She stated matter of factly.

"Why? Has Rose said something? Why would you wonder that?" Scorpius pressed for information, leaning in closer.

Pointing a finger at him in triumph, "See! You do really care! You're like a teenager looking for any gossip I can give you!"

"Lily, please, she likely thinks of me as a brother." The blonde slumped in his chair and allowed his gaze to wander back to Rose.

Lily smiled at him and shook her head at his obliviousness. "No you idiot, I think of you as a brother. An idiot of a brother who doesn't see an opportunity when it hits him in the face." She paused for a minute looking at the rest of the group across the porch, "Which frankly is exactly like my other two brothers." She sipped her drink and met Scorpius' grey eyes. "You're too busy pretending not to stare at her that you're missing all the times she's staring at you." With that last sentence she patted him on the arm, stood, and wandered over to the rest of the group. She took Al's place in dancing with Rose, Rose smiling at her cousin warmly and spun her around gracefully.

Now that Rose's attention was distracted elsewhere, Al made his way to Lily's recently vacated chair next to Scorpius. The two watched Rose and Lily dance and laugh before Scorpius poured Al another drink from the bottle Lily had left behind.

Al looked over at his friend and studied him, Scorpius had been unusually quiet and reserved all night, but Al knew better than to push. Despite the Malfoy often wishing to keep to himself, Al found that if he waited long enough, Scorpius usually poured all his secrets out to him anyway. They had always been each other's confidants and were always sworn to secrecy. Al smiled and raised his glass, "Cheers mate."

Scorp glanced next to him at his steadfast friend, "Cheers Al." They downed their drinks and watched the spectacle in front of them. A few minutes later, Fred reached over and switched off the radio. It had grown late and the moon and stars were out in full force and shining down on them.

James stepped over towards them and gave them a small wave, "Bye little bros." Then he and Fred disappeared inside to floo home. Scorpius would never admit it out loud to anyone, but he loved when he was so obviously and fully welcomed into the Potter-Weasley family. James had often referred to him as "little bro" but it never lost its shine. Hugo and Teddy bid their farewells next as Rose and Lily moved to push chairs in and straighten up the porch a bit.

"Well Al, should we floo back to the flat?" Scorpius stood, stretching his stiff muscles.

Al stood as well, looking at his friend sheepishly. "Yeah, about that," Shrugging, "I sort of agreed that we'd crash here for the night to help clean everything up in the morning."

Shaking his head but smiling despite himself, "This is because you can't say no to your Aunt Hermione isn't it?"

Al let out a short laugh and shrugged his defeat, "You try saying no to that woman, we can't even say no to Rose and Aunt Hermione is where she gets it from!" Scorpius threw his arm around his friend's shoulders as they walked back to the rest of the group.

"You take care Rosie, I'll see you at work in a day or two yeah?" Teddy embraced his younger cousin before stepping away.

"Of course Teddy, I'll be around! I only have tomorrow off then I'm back at it at Mungo's." Rose smiled as he wandered into the house to floo himself home. "Ah, as usual you two just loitering around huh." She grinned at Scorpius and Al.

Scorpius smirked down at the redhead, his firewhiskey addled brain fumbling for something clever to say once he met her sparkling green eyes. "You see Red, Al here can't seem to say no to your mum. Seems he volunteered us to crash here tonight and help clean up in the morning."

Rose feigned surprise and shock and placed a hand over her heart in disbelief, "Oh you poor boys, having to stay here and clean!"

Al simply rolled his eyes and pulled Rose into a hug, "Happy Birthday Rose," He muttered into her ear before turning to head upstairs to the room where he and Scorpius always stayed when at the Burrow.

Rose suddenly felt very warm at the realization that it was only her and Scorpius left out on the porch. She had had too much whiskey and it only served to make the blonde man look that much more attractive in the shining moonlight. She glanced down, refusing to meet his eyes as she felt her cheeks flush with an uncharacteristic shyness. She had no clue why he had this effect on her when he studied her so intensely. She spied the mostly empty bottle of firewhiskey bottle dangling from his fingertips. She glanced up to where his grey eyes studied her curiously, she reached down, her cold fingers lightly brushing his as she lifted the bottle from his hand. Rose watched as his eyes followed the bottle to her lips as she took a small shot of the golden liquid.

Scorpius watched the bottle travel toward Rose's lips enthralled. He didn't fully understand why, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. When she lowered the bottle she looked up at him, green eyes aflame with something he didn't recognize, she looked at him almost challengingly. Mustering any semblance of boldness he could he reached forward, rested a hand along the small of her back and leaned in close. Speaking softly into her ear, "Happy Birthday Rose." He placed a light kiss just in front of her ear, slipped the firewhiskey bottle from her hand and turned away. As he left her standing on the porch, he took a sip from the liquor bottle, desperately hoping to discern some taste of Rose among the cinnamon whiskey that burned his tongue. He wandered up the rickety staircase to Fred and George Weasley's old room, where he could already hear Albus' snores coming through the door quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

Groaning, Rose rolled onto her back in bed. The early morning sunlight was creeping in through the windows and a slight breeze wafted in from the one window that was cracked open. Trying to get her bleary eyes to focus, she allowed her gaze to wander around the room. Green eyes traced faded old Chudley Cannons posters, more recent Holy Head Harpies posters featuring her Aunt Ginny, old books lining several bookshelves hap-hazardly and tattered green curtains that rustled in the light morning breeze. This was her father's childhood room and also her own childhood room. Her grandparents visited the Burrow frequently but chose to live in a much smaller house once all of their children were grown. Instead, Ron and Hermione moved into the Burrow and made it their own.

Rose stretched and hauled herself out of bed, taking a moment to yawn she then ducked down and picked up a faded black cardigan and pulled it on as she made her way to the stairs. It was only around 8 AM and given the celebrations of the day before it was difficult to tell who would be awake at this hour, so she crept as quietly as she could down the rickety well-worn stairs.

A kettle was near boiling on the stove as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Standing reaching into a cupboard for the tea, stood a lanky man with unruly black hair that was beginning to be streaked with some grey.

"Morning Uncle Harry." Rose managed to squeeze out before a yawn overtook her features. She plopped herself unceremoniously into a chair at the table.

Harry turned with a grin on his face, "Morning Rose, fix you a cup?" He busied himself grabbing a mug for Rose after she nodded her approval.

Resting her face on her hand she watched her Uncle pour the boiling water into two mugs. "Not that I don't enjoy seeing you, but why are you here so early on a Sunday?"

"You have to enjoy seeing me, because I know I'm your favorite uncle," Harry stated matter of factly as he sat next to her at the table.

Rose smirked, "Just don't let all of my other uncles hear you say that, it would turn into an all-out brawl for my affection!"

Harry laughed and sipped his tea, "Really though I came by to talk to your father. He's helping us out with a training exercise we're running with the aurors, so we were planning and discussing details."

"You mean dad got out of bed this early? Uncle Harry, I know he loves you and all but I have a hard time believing that!" Harry laughed at the amazed look on Rose's face at even the thought of Ron Weasley getting out of bed early when there wasn't a Quidditch game to go to. It was then that Rose heard voices coming from the sitting room. Glancing at her Uncle quizzically, "Who is dad talking to in there?"

"Scorpius, they're playing chess." Harry studied Rose's face at the mention of the Malfoy boy. He had always been intrigued by their relationship. "Scorpius got up shortly after I got here so once I was done meeting with your dad they started playing chess."

Rose nodded and leaned back in her chair to see into the sitting room. She could see her dad and Scorpius each sitting cross legged near the coffee table, with Ron's well-worn wizard's chess set open between them. Her father looked as long and lanky as ever, with his faded pajamas still sitting several inches above his ankles. Scorpius had mussed hair and looked as though he had just rolled out of bed, gray pajama pants slung low over his hips and an auror program recruitment shirt covering his broad shoulders. He looked as comfortable in their sitting room as any number of Potter or Weasley relatives would. Rose watched him for a moment as he focused on making his next move while chatting amicably about the Chudley Cannon's chances in the Quidditch cup this year. She was only brought back from her observations by Harry's voice next to her.

"You know your dad and I are actually quite fond of him" Harry smirked behind his mug of tea as he watched his niece processing his words.

Rose spluttered for something to say for a moment, "Well that's good, you know, with him being Al's best friend and work partner and everything. Yeah that's good." She sipped at her tea and tried to ignore how red her ears were starting to turn as a flush crept up her neck.

"Especially since your dad and I are hard men to impress, it's good that he won us over." Harry tried to keep a smile from crossing his face as he watched Rose flush. He knew he was teasing her and he received the reaction he wanted. He couldn't help but draw parallels from Rose and Scorpius' supposedly "just friends" relationship to that of Ron and Hermione when they were younger. Besides, Potters liked to be instigators, so he might as well have his fun.

Rose looked up and studied the green eyes of her uncle, "Uncle Harry what are you getting at?" She narrowed her eyes and tried to discern why he was smirking at her from behind his tea.

Shrugging, "I was just saying that we liked the boy, that's all Rose, we couldn't fault anyone else for being fond of him either." Harry's eyes twinkled as Rose's eyes widened at him.

Rose glanced to her view of Scorpius and her dad and then met her Uncle's gaze, "I have no idea what you're talking about Uncle Harry." At that moment Hermione Granger-Weasley walked into the kitchen from the stairs and Rose begged her Uncle to drop their line of questioning with her eyes. "Morning mum."

Harry saw the look of panic cross Rose's face when her mother entered the room, throwing a wink her way he smiled at Hermione, "Morning 'Mione."

"Good morning you two," Hermione smiled and looked at the two in front of her for a moment, noticing the flush on her daughter's face she added, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?" She looked at Harry quizzically as Rose refused to meet her gaze.

Harry shook his head and leaned back in his chair, "Not at all, we were just talking about work stuff."

"Well good, because I can't have you interrogating my daughter at the kitchen table," Hermione ruffled Harry's hair affectionately and then leaned down to kiss Rose on top of the head before busying herself with making a cup of tea.

Meanwhile in the sitting room Scorpius moved his knight and waited for Ron's next move. He enjoyed talking to the older man, he was good company and enjoyed many of the same things as Scorpius- namely wizard's chess and quidditch. In fact, even at work in the auror office Scorpius often found himself hanging around Senior Aurors Weasley and Potter even when Al wasn't around. They had taken Scorpius under their wing from the moment Al first declared them best friends so many years ago. Of course Ron, Harry, Al and Scorpius also had another thing in common, a soft spot for Rose. For Ron she was his only daughter, for Harry she was a favorite niece that reminded him so much of one of his best friends, for Al she was a cousin turned best friend that he grew up with. For Scorpius, well he had a hard time putting his finger on what she was to him. She was insufferable and challenging and entertaining and stubborn and witty and funny and enchanting. She was so many things to him except what he really wanted her to be.

Scorpius made his next move then looked up towards the kitchen when he heard movement. He heard Harry Potter's voice laughing and saw Rose sitting in the end chair, leaning back with her knees up to her chest and her mug of tea held tightly between her hands. Her hair was down and wild around her, her black cardigan had slipped off one shoulder to reveal the freckled skin that wasn't covered by her tank top and she threw her head back and laughed at whatever her uncle had said to her. She was beautiful. She looked chaotic and untamed as the morning light illuminated her messy curls.

Ron looked up from the chess board and saw Scorpius staring past him into the kitchen. Turning around he saw his daughter at the kitchen table and could hear his wife and Harry moving around and talking in there with her. Ron chanced a glance back towards the younger man, who still sat staring, seemingly enthralled with the sight of his daughter in the morning. Sighing, he shook his head, he likely owed Harry a few sickles if this turned into anything. He cleared his throat and tried not to laugh as Scorpius' grey eyes darted to his own in surprise, "It's your play." Ron hid a smile as he watched the flush grow on Scorpius' high cheek bones and he turned to face the chess board once more.

Rose never tired of hearing stories of her parents and her Uncle Harry from Hogwarts. Harry loved to tell her stories of her mum and dad, and her mum loved to tell stories of the two boys and the stupid decisions they had often made. Rose especially loved watching her mum and Uncle Harry interact, their relationship reminded her so much of her own relationship with Al. However, when Harry and Hermione began to discuss ministry things Rose quickly became bored. Mug of tea in hand, she stood and wandered in to sit in the sitting room and watch the rest of the chess game.

"Morning Dad," She smiled as she sat in an old worn down armchair near his shoulder, then glanced at the blonde on the other side of the table, "Scorpius, good morning."

Ron grinned at his daughter, "Good morning Rosie, your friend here thinks he can beat your old man at wizard's chess!"

Rose mirrored her father's grin, "Oh yeah? And how is that faring so far?" She crossed her legs and sipped at her tea, the one freckled shoulder still on display, humor flashing in her eyes as she glanced at Scorpius. Grey eyes stared back at green.

Ron chuckled and reached towards the board to move his queen, "Well he was holding his own but as of just a few minutes ago he became very distracted," Scorpius eye's flicked to those of the older man slightly worried, "but that's alright, he'd have lost eventually even with no distraction, check mate Scorp." Ron grinned as Scorpius looked shocked then slightly embarrassed, knowing the older man knew exactly what that distraction was.

Rose laughed and flashed a smile at Scorpius, "Well I guess it's better luck next time then, you should know Scor, us Weasley's are hard to beat!"

"You're damn right we are Rose!" Ron laughed as he stood to make his way into the kitchen. He turned back to look at his daughter, "Are you sticking around for the day today Rosebud?"

Rose smiled at the nickname only her father could call her, "I'll be here for a bit."

Ron studied his daughter for a moment, he was often struck by her resemblance to her mother. She was fiercely intelligent and fiercely stubborn. She cares more about other people than she cares about herself. "You are so like your mother Rose," With a smile and a kiss to the top of her head he turned to walk towards the kitchen to join Harry and Hermione.

Scorpius studied Rose as she set her tea down, uncrossed her legs and allowed her feet to rest along the edge of the coffee table. He watched her slender fingers as she tied her hair up on the top of her head in a messy, curly knot. He let his gaze travel down her slender neck as the sunlight glinted across her freckled skin. He glanced up and saw her green eyes studying him as he stared at her. He shook his head slightly trying to break the trance he had fallen into. He stood and stretched, scrubbing a hand through his tousled hair before meeting her green eyed gaze again. "Well I guess I should go wake your lousy cousin up so we can get to work cleaning."

Rose nodded for a moment and took a sip of tea, "Hey Scorpius?" She called before he could round the corning to head up the stairs, he turned and leaned against the wall to face her.

"Rose?" He crossed his arms in front of him and waited patiently as Rose looked hesitant to speak.

Steeling her nerves, she turned to face him to ask something she had been curious about for a while now. "I know you see my dad a lot when you both are at the auror office, and you obviously see him here." She paused, he nodded for her to go on, "Well, I've wondered, what do you two talk about? Like what did you talk about this morning while you played chess? I can't imagine that you sit here quietly just playing chess. And what do you talk to Uncle Harry about?" All of her words came out in a rush and she leaned forward in anticipation of his answer.

Scorpius laughed, only Rose could be so nervous about such a simple question. "Well Rose, you know I get along with your Uncle and your dad very well. We talk about Quidditch, work, goings on with your family or with mine." He paused for a second as she continued to watch him with curiosity. "And sometimes we talk about you." With a smirk, Scorpius turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Rose to wonder what on earth the men in her lives had to say about her.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose wandered down the too clean hallways and shuffled through the papers in her hands. It had been several days since the party and it had been an extremely busy day on the acute spell damages floor. She hadn't had time to stop for lunch today and it was getting to the later part of the afternoon. With a heavy sigh she turned a corner and continue to skim her notes, she didn't look up until she nearly collided with a man wearing the blue robes of the research department.

"Wotcher Rose." Teddy smiled down at her and steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. His hair was the mousy brown color he had often seen in pictures of his dad. He grinned down at the redhead in front of him.

Rose looked up at him wide-eyed, "Oh hey Teddy. Sorry I didn't see you!"

Teddy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked next to her, "Long day Rosie? Can I buy you a coffee?"

Rose leaned heavily into him as they walked with his arm around her shoulders, "Yes please! I could use some coffee." She held her charts against her body and let Teddy steer her towards the cafeteria coffee shop. She sat heavily into a chair and waited for Teddy to return with two coffees in hand.

After Teddy returned, the two chatted amicably about work. Teddy worked in St. Mungo's research department studying lycanthropy and longer acting wolfsbane potions. He dabbled in other potions and charms when it was required of him, but his passion was for studying the werewolf transformation in the hopes of one day curing it. Rose loved having one of her beloved family members working at her place of employment, it was so nice to see a friendly face after long days of patients and paperwork.

Teddy waited patiently for an opportunity to segue into what he really wanted to talk to her about. The conversation slowed for a moment and he took his chance. "So Rose, any men in your life recently?"

Rose looked curiously at her older cousin with the sudden change of topic. "No Teddy, there are no men in my life right now, none romantically anyway." She continued to eye him with suspicion. "Why do you want to know?"

"Can't I wonder about one of my favorite cousins and her well-being?" At this Rose rolled her eyes dramatically but Teddy forged on, "But you're sure there's no one you fancy?"

Rose shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. Teddy grinned at her playfully. She watched as his normally mousy brown hair began to change to an unmistakable shade of blonde. Teddy Lupin, like his mother before him, was an animagus. Green eyes widened and stared at him as even his eyebrows changed color to a Malfoy blonde.

"Ted, what are you on about?" She asked hesitantly.

Teddy leaned his elbows onto the table and drew himself closer to her. "Rose dear, I saw you and Malfoy flirting over a bottle of firewhiskey at the end of the party a few days ago. I was going to leave and decided I wanted a glass of water so I ended up near the kitchen sink and saw you two."

Rose groaned and let her head fall onto her hands in front of her. She desperately tried to pretend the current conversation wasn't happening.

"Come on Rose, there's obviously chemistry between you two," Teddy prodded her arm and let his hair turn back to its usual work day brown. "I know what I saw, he'd be lucky to have you."

Rose lifted her head and fixed her cousin with a stare that was reminiscent of her mother. "Theodore Lupin just because you and Victoire are blissfully happy does not mean that you get to meddle in anyone else's love life, so don't get any ideas!"

Teddy paused for a moment and searched her face, he was treading on thin ice, but he knew Rose could never stay mad at him for long. "Rosie dear, maybe because I'm blissfully happy with Victoire I want the same for you? Besides, if you were to go out with Scorpius, what's the worst that could happen?" He watched as she sipped her coffee in silence and avoided his eyes.

"The worst would be that I make a move and am rejected so completely that I lose him as a friend completely. It's not worth the risk. I'm too busy as it is." Rose made to stand and gathered her charts in her arms, "Thanks for the coffee Teddy, I'll see you soon okay?" She gave him a slight nod and wandered back down the halls of St. Mungos.

Although Teddy felt slightly remorseful for pushing her, he also felt he did the right thing. _She needs a bit of a push from time to time, if it takes meddling to do it then so be it!_ Teddy finished his coffee then made to walk back towards the research department to continue his work for the day.

Rose left her meeting with Teddy in a foul mood. Because it wasn't bad enough that she couldn't get her best friend out of her head but now Teddy also wanted to barge in. Rose had always tried her hardest to keep her many male relatives out of her love life, they always seemed to get in the way. Her afternoon got worse as one of her patients continually vomited slugs and had very poor aim. She was tired, grumpy, and now she smelled like slugs.

Thoughts of Scorpius swam through her head as she trudged back to the flat she shared with Lily. Thinking of the blonde git only added fuel to the simmering fire of her temper. It was his fault she was so distracted. First he watched her through the entire birthday party and she still wasn't sure what to make of the small kiss at the end of the night. She absentmindedly allowed her fingers to trace the area in front of her ear where his lips had touched. Of course, the morning after the party there he was in her parent's living room! He was always around and he had the gall to confuse her further and say that he talks about her to her family, her own family! And now Teddy and Uncle Harry were making suggestions and dropping hints and sticking their noses where they didn't belong. She had had too frustrating of a day to temper her anger at this point. She huffed angrily as she dropped her keys before she could get them into the door of the flat, she finally succeeded and opened the door only to be met with familiar voices.

Glancing around she saw Lily, Albus and Scorpius lounging around the flat. They had several pizza boxes open on the coffee table between them and each had a beer in their hands. "Oh good, everyone is here." Rose stated unenthusiastically.

Lily glanced at Albus and then at Scorpius, Rose did not look like she was in a good mood which could be bad for all of them.

Rose stalked into the apartment, dropping her bag unceremoniously on the floor in their entryway. She sighed heavily and looked around. It was only then that she noticed her cat, Artemis, curled up and purring contentedly on Scorpius' lap…this was the last straw. She groaned loudly and began to mutter under her breath, "Of course even MY cat who I rescued from an otherwise likely miserable existence prefers him too. This is her way of hinting that she's fond of him and all that nonsense the rest of the family has been spouting." She moved around their small flat dropping her keys in their designated dish and leaving her jacket thrown over a chair. She continued muttering angrily as the other three people in the room simply sat and watched her in silence, unsure of what to do.

Al was the first that was brave enough to speak, despite Lily shaking her head adamantly, desperately trying to make him stay quiet. "Um, Rose? Is everything alright?" Al peered tentatively up at his cousin from over the tops of his horn-rimmed glasses. Then before he could stop himself he wrinkled his nose and recoiled, "What is that smell?!"

Rose spun around, several curls breaking free of her hap-hazard bun as she turned. "What you're smelling is me!" She paused and looked at Al, who had the decency to look slightly abashed at his question. "It was a shit day at work, then Teddy pissed me off, then it continued to be a shit day at work." She walked a few steps into the hallway away from them, "And what you're smelling is me after having someone vomit slugs on me, so thanks for pointing that out Al. I'm going to take a shower." Rose trudged down the hallway, not waiting for a response.

Some of her anger started to dissipate as she let the steaming water run over her as she worked a lather into her hair. She felt a little bad about how frustrated she just was to Al, Lily and Scorpius, especially since they really didn't do anything wrong. Drinking in the smell of her vanilla soap she resigned herself to apologizing when she rejoined them in the living room.

"I wonder what's gotten into Rose, "Al mused as he sipped at his beer. "Teddy must have really gotten her frustrated to set her off like this."

Scorpius shrugged and scratched behind Artemis' ears. The calico cat had been curled up purring in his lap for the last half hour. She was a testament to Rose's true nature. As much as Rose was sarcastic and cynical she had found Artemis half-starved and shivering near a dumpster outside of St. Mungos, without hesitation she brought her to live with her and Lily and nursed her back to health. The cat had always appeared to be far more intelligent than the average feline, Scorpius often found the animal watching the activities around her with her bright yellow eyes. It always appeared to him that the cat understood exactly what was happening around her and understood every word that was said.

Lily glanced at the two boys, studying Scorpius as her brother picked up a nearby magazine. Rose had been in the shower for a short time when she chose to speak, "You know you should talk to her." She smiled sweetly as Scorpius's head shot up with wide eyes.

"Talk to her about what?" Al asked absently. He became more interested after seeing the look on his best mate's face. "What's going on?" He looked back and forth between Lily and Scorpius waiting for an explanation.

"Lily is meddling in things she shouldn't that's all."

"You are so stubborn. I don't understand why you don't talk to her." Lily said ignoring Al's confused stare.

"I'm not going to say anything Lily, please drop it." Scorpius glanced up and say Rose walking down the hallway towards them, wet hair tied loosely in a braid

"Say anything about what?" Rose asked as she wandered in and sat next to Al on the couch.

"Nothing." Scorpius tried to sound dismissive and shot Lily a glare. Peering up at him from his lap two yellow eyes watched him intently. Artemis then dug claws from all four feet into his leg. "Ow damn it! Bloody cat!" Artemis jumped down smoothly and made her way over to Rose's lap, curling up contentedly but continuing to watch him with her unsettling yellow eyes.

"Clearly the cat agrees with me." Lily stated simply handing a beer over to Rose.

Nodding her thanks Rose took a sip. "By the way, I'm sorry for my very rude and uncalled for entrance earlier. Just a shit day."

Al waved her off indicating it was already forgotten. He nudged her with his elbow, "At least you smell better now anyway." Rose threw her head back and laughed, allowing herself to shake off the stress of the day and enjoy the company around her. She remained aware of a pair of grey eyes studying her from across the room the remainder of the evening.


	4. Chapter 4

"As you know we're here to practice and evaluate different skills, we're going to start doing these kind of assessments periodically to make sure everyone stays sharp." Harry Potter's voice rang out to the room full of aurors. They all stood side by side in their black slim uniforms with wand holsters securely strapped to their thighs. Harry spoke again, "I'm going to be assessing your occlumency skills, Senior Auror Weasley is going to work on strategy with you," he nodded towards Ron where he stood near him. He continued to list off what the other senior aurors would be assessing. "In between assessments just do your usual work outs. Any questions?"

The aurors gradually filed out to their respective places and their training day began. The majority of activities were designed for sets of partners, Scorpius and Al worked their way through each station. They had long ago learned to work together as a unit. From being beaters on the Slytherin quidditch team together for 5 years, to being best friends who look at each other as family, to being partners as aurors, they had each other's backs and could adapt quickly to the other's actions and maneuvers. They flew through the majority of their assessments. Ron watched proudly as they aced his strategy session, choosing to believe they did well due to the many games of wizard's chess they had played over the years. Finally they came to their last station, their occlumency assessment with Senior Auror Potter.

Al went first, after 20 minutes he wandered back out of the room. It was Scorpius' turn now. The blonde man walked into the room. Harry turned to face him and smiled, "Auror Malfoy, good, I think you're the last one to come through here. Ready to get started?"

Scorpius nodded and sat across from Harry. "Yep I know the drill." They had practiced occlumency and legillimency during their training as recruits.

Scorpius felt Harry start to probe the edges of his mind. He put up his mental walls, showing superficial images with no clear definition, doing his best to not give anything away. Ten minutes passed and he was losing his resolve. It had been a long day, he was tired and distracted. The images he was showing Harry started to become more distinct. Copper curls and green eyes floated out of the ill-defined shapes. Rose, this was his Rose and he was putting her on display for Harry to see in his head. Scorpius' mind tried frantically to reel control back in. The desperation to regain control only made him spin out more. Rose came back into focus, copper hair curling wildly down around her shoulders. She took two steps towards him, they were almost touching now in this image in his brain, if he reached out then surely he would feel her warm skin. Rose smiled at him, that enchanting smile with one side raised slightly higher than the other. He watched, a captive audience to his own daydream, as his hand reached out and caressed her cheek, then tracing down her slender neck and playing across her collarbone. His fingers hooked around the strap of her tank top, sliding it down off of her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. Suddenly his mind went blank and then he was jarred back to the fluorescent lighting in the office where he was sat across from Harry Potter.

The two men stared at each other for a moment. Color rising high onto Scorpius' cheekbones. Harry looked at the young man with a small amount of pity, after all this exercise had been known to reveal secrets on occasion. Harry ran a hand through his hair, cleared his throat, and locked eyes with Scorpius.

"First of all, I think it's fair to say that you need practice. I got through your defenses far too quickly." Harry paused in an attempt to choose his words carefully. "Second of all, I'm going to need you to tell me what that was that I just witnessed with you and Rose."

Scorpius sighed and sat up as straight as he could, there was no sense in stalling at this point. "It was a dream."

"Sorry?" Harry's green eyes studied him with confusion.

"What you saw. That Rose. That is a dream that I have, well a dream that I've had many times." Scorpius tried to find anything of interest to look at that wasn't the man across from him. "Its become a bit of a daydream as well if I'm being honest. It hasn't happened, none of that has happened."

Both men sat in silence. Harry studied the man in front of him. Scorpius looked embarrassed but also tried his best to look confident and unafraid. Despite the flush on his cheekbones his face remained neutral. The one give away to the young man's stress level was his knee jumping up and down under the table in front of him.

"You'd like it to happen though wouldn't you?" Harry asked quietly. Scorpius offered the smallest of nods. "Does Rose know?"

The panicked look on Scorpius' face told Harry everything he needed to know. "Merlin no, could you imagine if I told Rose? She'd panic! Or she'd hex me or something!"

Harry laughed loudly at the rushed words that left Scorpius. "Yes well Rose is very much the product of Ron and Hermione, so she has not been known to deal with new emotions well. Not to mention our family tends to meddle."

Scorpius cracked a smile at Harry's relaxed tone of voice. "Yeah I've already ran into one member of your meddling family who guessed how I'd been feeling."

"Was it Teddy? Or Al?"

Scorpius grinned, "Neither actually, Lily apparently figured it out."

Harry nodded, "Lily is a lot like her mother, good luck getting her to give up on this one. Aside from maybe Rose, she's probably the most persistent person in our family."

"Yeah she's already been putting some pressure on me, for such a small person she can be quite aggressive!" Just then a knock came at the door and Ron Weasley's voice followed it asking if they were about finished. "If you don't mind Harry, I'd really rather keep all of this between us."

"We'll be right out Ron," Harry yelled through the door before facing Scorpius again. "Of course, it's all between us. I know my opinion only counts for so much, but I think you'd be good for Rose. You're already a part of the family anyway." Harry stood and clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Come on, its about time we wrap this day up anyway." Scorpius stood and followed out of the room, still processing all that had occurred.

Al dropped into step beside him as they rejoined the rest of the aurors. "You alright mate? You were in there with my dad for a while."

Scorpius shrugged and scrubbed his hand through his hair. "Yeah Al I'm fine, just need more practice I guess."

Al grinned, "Well good! We're still on for tonight then yeah?" At Scorpius' befuddled look, "It's Finnegan's stag night remember? Pub crawl!"

Maybe this was exactly the distraction that he needed.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose sighed heavily as she pulled herself out of her bathtub. She had the apartment to herself and she didn't have to work tomorrow. With Lily off on a date she drew herself a relaxing bath and had a glass of wine. Not bothering to get dressed first, she tied a thin black robe around her body and braided her partially dried hair as she walked in search of another glass of wine. Sipping the sweetly spiced red wine, she sat on the couch and picked up the mystery novel she had just started. Three pages later a frantic knock sounded at her door. Wrapping her robe tighter around herself she wandered over to look through the peephole.

Standing on the other side of the door was Albus and Scorpius, both leaning heavily on each other with matching goofy grins on their faces. Al seemed to be sporting a rather impressive black eye and Scorpius had a nasty gash on his right cheekbone. They were both still slightly weaving as they stood in the hallway.

Rose sighed and threw open the door. "What are you two doing here?"

"Oh good, you are home!" Al stated brightly, pushing past her to collapse on her couch. Scorpius followed him slightly slower with a crooked grin at Rose.

"Excuse me! Did I invite you in?" She looked at the two, Al was sitting back on the couch with his feet up on her coffee table and Scorpius sat in her big plush chair that she liked to read in. Her quiet relaxing evening was slipping away from her. "Who wants to explain what happened to your faces? And why are you so drunk when it's barely 10 pm?" They both grinned stupidly up at her. "You guys are interrupting my evening!" She was whining, she wasn't proud of it, but sometimes their antics turned her back into a 13 year-old who wasn't getting her way. When they both devolved into drunken giggles instead of answering, Rose put both hands on her hips, and glared at them. "You two are adults, even more than that, you both are aurors, trained to protect people, and here you are, showing up drunk to interrupt my evening!"

The two men sat in silence. Al leaned forward to address her, "Blimey Rose, you sound like Aunt Hermione."

Scorpius nodded, "You do sound like your mother, it's a bit scary."

Rose threw her hands up in frustration. "Bloody hell just tell me why you are here!"

Al grinned, "The swearing is from Uncle Ron though!" At Rose's murderous glare he continued on, "Can't I come visit my favorite cousin?"

"Bugger off Al, what do you want?"

Scorpius stood and stepped towards her, his alcohol intake made him brave, he placed his hands on her shoulders in a placating gesture. "As you may have noticed my dear Rosie, we've had a few drinks tonight."

Al cut in from behind him, "It was Eric Finnegan's stag-do."

Scorpius waved his hand at Al to try to quiet him down. "Yes so we had a few at the bar, there may have been cause for a small fight to break out…" He was distracted for a moment as his hand appeared to have a mind of it's own tracing a small circle on her shoulder where it lay. Snapping himself out of it he met her eyes once again. "That's why we look like this, just a small fight!"

Rose batted his hands away from her shoulders, unsettled by how nice it felt. She crossed her arms in front of her, "Do I get to know what you were fighting about?"

Both men immediately said "No!" and Scorpius reddened. Al simply looked murderous for a moment.

Al softened, "Rose I know we said we wouldn't do this again, but we need you to fix us up. Dad can't know about the bar fight. We can't show up to work like this."

Sighing, Rose nodded. "I figured as much. You two are trouble, you know that?" She busied herself with looking through her cupboards for a few moments. "You are difficult, difficult men. Why am I friends with you both again?" She continued muttering and moving around the flat. Rose had patched them up before, Al tended to be a bit short-tempered, something he liked to attribute to his Weasley genes, and Scorpius being the loyal friend had often been dragged into the fray as well. She hadn't had to fix them up since before they officially joined the auror training program, which only made her all the more curious as to what could have set them off.

Rose returned to the living room and looked at the two men, deciding to start with her drunken cousin she sat on the couch next to Al. "Frankly I'm surprised you don't have any of this at home to use Al." She turned his face to face her and started applying some of the bruise paste their Uncle George sold in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Ignoring his protests, she continued to apply a thick layer of paste around his bruised eye. "Leave that sit for about 20 minutes then I'll come clean it off, I have to attend to your partner in crime over there." Rose went to leave the couch but felt Al's hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you Rosie dearest!" Al gave her the biggest smile he could muster.

Rose patted his hand where it lay on her shoulder, "You are a huge pain in my arse Albus Potter." She couldn't help the smile that graced her features. Turning, "Come on Scorp, the lighting is better in the kitchen and you might need stitches to close that gash up."

Obediently Scorpius followed the redhead into the kitchen, sitting on the chair she indicated. He watched her as she moved about the small space, first grabbing a glass of water for Al then one for himself before she moved to study the gash on his cheekbone. As she studied the cut in the light, she leaned over him, his senses being overwhelmed by the smell of vanilla and cinnamon, a scent that he had long associated with the witch in front of him. As her slender fingers probed the area around the cut, she leaned forward and the front of her robe opened just enough to give him a glimpse of freckled skin dipping low between her breasts. As Rose pulled away to grab a damp cloth, he smiled cheekily up at her. "Why Healer Weasley, am I to understand that you have nothing on under that thin robe you're wearing?"

She couldn't stop the flush that colored her cheeks and tips of her ears, pressing down slightly harder than was necessary she started to clean dried blood away from his wound. "Well Auror Malfoy I wasn't exactly expecting company." She tried to ignore his grey gaze on her face as she worked. "Just keep your eyes away from the opening in my robe would you? You've always been a flirty drunk." The small kitchen seemed to be charged, the air felt heavy in the enclosed space.

Al had flicked on a radio in the living room, leaving the two of them on their own. As Rose started stitching his face, she leaned slightly against Scorpius to steady herself. She sighed and stopped her work, leveling her gaze with the man in front of her. "Scorpius are you going to tell me why Al picked a fight at a bar for the first time in a long time?"

Struggling to come up with a way to get out of the conversation, his drink addled brain moved slower than usual. "Rose…"

"No, if there is something going on with Al then I need to know about it. What happened tonight Scor?"

Refusing to meet her gaze, "Fine, just keep stitching and I'll tell you." Rose set to work again and waited for him to continue. "It wasn't Al that started it, it was me." Her hands stilled for a moment, then realizing he wouldn't continue talking until she kept moving, so she started working again. His voice continued, "you know how it is when too many drunken idiots get together, we started talking about women, which then became talking about women we know, and then of course because Finnegan is still friends with that git McClaggen, you were brought up."

Rose groaned. She had gone on one date with Connor McClaggen about a year ago, it had been horrendous and despite nothing happening at the end of the date he decided to go around bragging that he had bedded the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley after one date. He had been a mistake but she made her family promise not to get involved and let the rumors die out on their own. Until tonight apparently. "What happened Scorpius?"

She tied off her last stitch then leaned back on the counter across from his chair. Scorpius still wouldn't meet her eyes. "He's a dick Rose, he was just being a complete arse."

"What could he possibly say that would make you start a fight though? I made you guys promise not to get involved and just to ignore him. I'm not worth getting into a fight over, I can handle the rumors." Rose crossed her arms in front of her and looked at him defiantly, green eyes sparking.

Scorpius stood and took a step towards her. "We know you can handle it Rose. I couldn't handle what he was saying. He said that you had been all over him and were absolutely gagging for it. He said other things that I am not going to repeat." His hands had tightened into fists by his side. "So I hit him, I couldn't let him talk about you that way, so I swung at him. Al of course jumped in right away as well, I'm not sure how he held his temper in check as long as he did but there was definitely no hesitation. It sort of devolved from there."

He felt small hands on his as she coaxed his fists open. Looking down he met her green eyes that seemed to be burning bright with energy. "I don't like being the cause of you both fighting, especially when you could have lost your jobs if Uncle Harry knew."

Scorpius hardened his gaze as he looked at her, "I think your Uncle Harry would have understood Rose." Continuing before his sobering brain could stop him, "I couldn't let him talk about you that way, you deserve so much more than that."

Rose took a half step towards him, their chests nearly touching. "I'm not going to thank you for punching someone over me. You know I can fight my own battles, I don't need you to defend my honor."

Scorpius reached up and traced her cheekbone with the thumb of his right hand. "I know. You're incredibly stubborn and increasingly infuriating. Why would I expect anything less?"

Rose had only had one glass of wine but she felt intoxicated from the closeness of him. The air felt heavy and stifling. His body radiated heat that she could feel through her thin robe and the thumb trailing along her cheek felt like it left fire in it's path. Shutting down the logical side of her brain, she stood on tip toes and pulled his face to meet hers in a searing kiss. Scorpius was caught off guard but quickly responded, threading one hand to the nape of her neck tangled in her hair and the other slid to the small of her back, pulling her flush against him. Her hands tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck as she bit down gently on his lower lip, earning herself a groan pulled from deep in his throat. He walked her backwards until she was pinned between the cupboard and his body, his hand gripped her hip tightly. Rose groaned into his kiss, feeling more and more breathless by the second.

Oblivious to what was occurring in the kitchen, Al yelled in "Hey Rose can we get this stuff off of my face now?" Rose froze, then flattened her palms against Scorpius' chest to push him backwards away from her.

After regaining her breath Rose called back, "Yeah Al, I'll be right there." She rebraided her hair to hide the evidence of his hands being entangled in it, all the while avoiding eye contact with the blonde man in front of her. Ears still burning she rejoined her cousin in the living room, leaving Scorpius in the kitchen, thoughts reeling.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose refused to meet Al's eyes as she busied herself wiping the bruise cream off of his eye carefully. Fully aware her ears were still burning red.

"Rosie? You okay?" Al peered up at her face, taking in her distracted silence.

Rose shrugged but still refused to meet his green stare. "Of course, I'm great!" Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence, causing Al to raise an eyebrow skeptically. "I'm fine Al."

Al continued to survey her face as she focused on her task of erasing his black eye. Deciding he was better off with changing the subject, "Where is my sister tonight anyway?"

"She's on a date."

"A date?"

"Yep, a date."

"With who?"

"That is absolutely none of your business Al."

"Rose, I think it's only fair if I know." Green eyes stared at green, cousin stared at cousin. Neither were willing to budge in their resolve.

The front door opened and Lily herself waltzed into the apartment. The youngest Potter balanced on tall heels in a short black dress, auburn hair falling over her shoulders. She closed the door behind her and dropped her small purse on the floor, taking in the sight of Rose finishing cleaning up her brother's eye.

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear!" Al grinned at his sister.

Lily rolled her eyes but cracked a smile anyway. "Gee, hi Al. Did you crash Rosie's night in?" At his shrug and nod she continued. "Where's your better half?"

It was Al's turn to roll his eyes now, "You realize you're related to me but you think he's the better half? He's in the kitchen I think."

Lily worked her heels off of her feet, "Yeah well, I like him better than you. Do I want to know what happened to your eye and why Rose is erasing the evidence?"

"Nope," He stated bluntly, popping the sound of the P. Rose had finally released his face, almost all evidence of his black eye now gone. Lily looked at Rose for answers, her ears still tinted pink, she simply mouthed the word _later_ to her younger cousin.

Lily shrugged and dropped her shoes next to her purse on the floor. "Do we have more wine?" Rose nodded and held out her glass for a refill, begging Lily silently for a generous helping.

"I'm going to actually put some regular clothes on." Rose stated and wandered down the hallway, tugging her robe tighter around her body as she went.

Lily traipsed into the kitchen to find Scorpius sitting in a chair, chewing on his lip and staring in the general direction of the refrigerator. Artemis was winding herself in lazy circles around his legs.

Lily stepped in front of him to grab a wine glass for herself. "Hi Scorp." He grunted in acknowledgement, continuing to stare into space. "Hey! Malfoy! What the hell has gotten into you?!"

"Huh? Oh Lily, hi." Scorpius shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on Lily's face hovering before him.

Lily laughed and went about pouring two glasses of wine. "I see Rose did a good job mending your face, what happened to you guys tonight?"

"Rose will tell you all about it later I'm sure, so I'll just save that story for her." Lily shrugged but turned to face him.

"Do you want to talk about Rose?" She tried to keep the smile from forming on her face as she watched him squirm. She observed him a little closer and watched as two patches of pink appeared high on his cheekbones, "Did something happen with Rose? Oh tell me! Tell me!"

Scorpius dragged his hands down his face in frustration. "Lily you're killing me."

Floating in from the living room came Rose's voice, "Lily, I thought you were bringing the wine out!"

With a mischevious smirk on her face, Lily edged towards the living room, "Well if you won't tell me, then maybe Rose will!" She flounced back towards her cousins in the living room.

Jumping from his chair to follow her, "Lily!" then he began to mutter under his breath, "Damn Weasley-Potter women might very well be the death of me."

Rose was seated in her big comfy chair, now wearing an old Weasley sweater and shorts, legs stretched out in front of her. Lily handed her a glass of wine then perched herself on the arm of the chair with her legs draped over Rose's lap. After studying them for a moment Scorpius collapsed on the couch next to Al.

Rose leaned her head against Lily, taking a sip of her wine before speaking, "So how was the date Lil?"

Lily let out a laugh and shook her head, "It was a dud! Complete and total dud, just ridiculous."

"So you can tell me who it was a date with?" Al asked.

"No way!" Lily laughed then turned to Rose, "But I do need to tell you who I ran into!"

"Okay, I'll bite, who did you run into?" Rose shrugged, used to Lily's antics and excitement over small things. Al and Scorpius just stared at the two of them, the girls spoke faster when they were together, they had developed their own candor and rhythm in conversation after moving in together.

Lily looked as though she may explode with excitement, "Okay, you know that weekend last year when we went to visit Uncle Charlie on the dragon reserve in Romania? You know, that long weekend that you had off from the hospital and we went on our trip together?" Never one to miss dramatic timing, Lily paused until Rose nodded again. "Well do you remember Stavros?" She nudged her cousin and wiggled an eyebrow suggestively.

Rose clapped a hand over her mouth, a blush coloring her cheeks once again, "Oh my god Stavros! What is he doing here?"

Suddenly it was like Scorpius and Al didn't even exist in the room, the two girls were only focused on each other. Swallowing another mouthful of wine Lily's excitement only grew, "He said he is in town for a conference for a few days, something about a new cosmetic use for dragon scales or something like that. Rose he asked about you! He specifically asked about my tall, incredibly smart cousin who was a healer. He literally remembered everything about you."

Rose blushed harder, "Lily, you know I can't see him!"

Lily looked at Scorpius when she spoke her next few words, "Well Rose, why can't you go see him, you guys did spend a magical night together didn't you? And he did look a bit like a greek god didn't he?" As Rose groaned and threw her head back against the back of the chair Lily mouthed a few words to Scorpius, _You need to make your move soon mister!_

Al spluttered for a moment before finally regaining control of his speech, "Excuse me! You went to visit our Uncle and spent a magical night with someone?!"

Rose continued to blush but levelled Al with a stare anyway, "Relax Al, I'm an adult, I can spend magical nights with whomever I choose!" With her last line she let her gaze flick to Scorpius' face for a moment to find he was already studying hers.

Al scoffed, "Well I'd rather not think about either of you spending magical night's with anyone, as an older brother and cousin I have to protect your virtue."

Lily laughed openly and Rose snorted into her wine glass. Recovering quickly, Rose stated, "Al we're the same age."

"Well I'm three months older."

"Yeah but you act ten years younger."

Recognizing that devolving into childish banter could often go on for hours, Lily raised a hand to silence them both. Taking her time in finishing her glass of wine before she spoke, "It's getting late, and I'm sure you two," indicating the men, "have to work tomorrow."

Rose followed suit in finishing her wine, "You're right Lil, we should all go to bed, you guys can crash here tonight if you want, it's closer to the auror office anyway." She made to stand, untangling herself from Lily.

"Rosie," Al stated softly, "Are you going to meet up with this Stavros character?" He peered up into her face curiously.

Rose sighed and shrugged, "I don't know Al. I am heading to bed. Al, the rest of your bruising should be gone by morning, and Scorpius your stitches will have dissolved by morning, it'll just look like you scratched yourself. Good night all." Green eyes lingered on grey for a moment before she made her way down the hall to her bedroom.

Lily watched Scorpius as he stared after her cousin. Shaking her head softly, "Good night boys." Wandering down the hall after Rose she heard Scorpius and Al call after her, "Night Lil."

Rose had just laid down in her bed when her door quietly opened and Lily tiptoed in, now dressed in a tank top and shorts. She bounded over Rose to land on the bed next to her, shaking the bed violently with the action.

"Lily, Merlin what has gotten into you?!" Rose laughed, startled.

Lily looked at her, feigning innocence, "What happened between you and Scorpius tonight?"

Struck dumb by the question, Rose opened and closed her mouth several times. "He, he told you?" Sitting up in bed she faced Lily fully.

"Relax, he didn't have to, all I did was mention your name and I swear you would have thought he was a Weasley with how hard he blushed! What did you do to that man?"

Sighing in frustration, Rose threw herself backwards into her pillow, covering her face with her hands. "Ugh first Teddy, now you! Why is everyone sticking their noses in my business!'

"Ooh what did Teddy do?!" No answer. Lily nudged her cousin with her toes, jabbing her harder in the ribs when she still received no answer. "Rose! Talk! To! Me!" She punctuated each word with another jab to the ribs.

"Ouch, bloody hell Lily, quit!" Rose begrudgingly sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. "Fine I'll talk." She proceeded to fill Lily in on the flirtation that Teddy had caught her and Scorpius sharing, her discussion about it with Teddy, and the reason for the fight at the bar. "And well, there was kind of this moment with Scorpius in the kitchen after I stitched him up. I sort of, uh, I sort of kissed him."

Lily had to throw a hand over her own mouth to muffle her squeal of excitement. She was practically vibrating with energy. "Rose, oh that's fantastic! How was it?"

Blushing to the tips of her ears, Rose grinned, "It was an amazing kiss Lil."

"So what next? You two would obviously be great together!"

"Well, I sort of ran away to tend to your brother, and then you got home and we never talked about it." Rose spoke without taking a breath. "I have no idea what to do now."

Lily stared hard at her cousin, she loved her dearly, and for one of the smartest members of their family she could be really thick sometimes. "You're kidding right? You ran away?"

"I mean, I didn't literally run, but I left him in the kitchen without saying anything." Rose paused, feeling foolish, "So yeah I did kind of run away. Bugger."

Shaking her head, Lily stood and made to leave the room, "Rose, you're shit at this whole romance thing, I want you to know that. But he's already been head over heels for you for a long time, you'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm going to bed, we'll figure everything else out in the morning." With a small wave and a reassuring smile, Lily backed out of the room thinking to herself _For two people who are so obviously interested in each other, how can they possibly keep making this harder for themselves?!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Tap, tap, tap!_

Rose groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.

Again, _tap, tap, tap!_

"Bloody buggering fuck all." Grumbling, Rose rolled out of bed and trudged to her window, sliding it open. A big tawny owl fluttered in with a scroll of paper tied to his leg. Rose recognized the owl, his name was Reg, this was Teddy's owl. The bird nuzzled against her arm as she worked to untie the scroll. "Oh Reg, what on earth is Teddy owling me for, it's still bloody dark outside." Flopping down on her bed with a sigh she unrolled the paper in her hands. Teddy's harsh and slanted script stared back at her.

_"Rosie dear, I need your help. I'm sorry for badgering you so much the other day, it's out of love for you my sweet cousin. Even if you aren't ready to forgive me yet, I really need your help. I am so close to making a breakthrough on the extended wolfsbane potion. I think the key is medical grade moonstone but I really need your help doing more research. Please come help me, I'll forever be in your debt!_

_ Send Reg back with your answer, I'm heading to Mungo's already._

_ Sorry for the early wake up call by the way.—Ted"_

Sighing heavily Rose scribbled a note back.

_"Teddy, you damn well better have a coffee waiting for me when I get there to help you. Let's not make waking me up at ungodly hours of the morning a habit please. See you soon—Rose"_

Squinting at her bedside clock she saw it was only 6 AM, and on her day off no less. Pulling herself up with a groan she slowly got dressed. She pulled on old baggy jeans and a fading Gryffindor sweater. She dragged her hands through her hair, fluffing her unruly curls around her shoulders. Who cares what she looks like today anyway? Rose planned on hiding away in the research library all day anyway.

Quietly making her way down the hallway towards the kitchen for a glass of water before apparating, Rose listened for any sounds of anyone else moving around but the flat was quiet. Listening to the steady breathing of Al and Scorpius in the living room she crept further down the hall. Rounding the corner to get into the kitchen her foot caught on the doorframe and she stubbed her toe hard.

"Ah, bloody fuck!" Rose cried quietly, hopping and grabbing her painful foot.

A voice from the general vicinity of the couch coughed then, "Rose?"

"Ugh, I'm fine Al, go back to sleep."

A second sleepy voice joined in from her favorite chair, "What time is it?"

Since they were already awake for the time being, Rose flipped on the kitchen light. "It's just after 6." Pouring herself a glass of water she leaned back against the counter. "I'm going in to St. Mungos, but you guys can go back to sleep."

Shuffling into the kitchen doorway Scorpius reached up to lean both hands on the top of the doorframe, stretching languidly. He surveyed Rose with sleep drenched eyes. "Why aren't you still sleeping? Isn't today your day off?"

Rose tried not to look at the small strip of skin that was now peeking out at her from between the waistband of his boxers and the hem of his t shirt as he stretched in front of her. His hair was adorably mussed from sleep. Taking another steadying sip of water before speaking, "Teddy owled me, he needs help with research for his wolfsbane potion project."

Pushing past his blonde friend, Al stumbled into the kitchen, reaching for a water glass. "Tell Teddy to bugger off, it's your day off."

With a sigh, "Al, you and I both know that I am incapable of saying no to any member of our family, your ugly mug included." She stated patting the side of Al's face as she moved passed him to slip on worn old tennis shoes with fraying laces. Pulling herself to standing, "I'll see you guys later on, get a few more hours sleep before you head to work, okay?" With that she wandered out the door and apparated to the lobby of St. Mungo's.

After meeting with Teddy and learning exactly what he needed from her, Rose secluded herself in the library searching research texts for any information that would be helpful for them. Teddy had fawned over her and made sure she was well aware of how grateful he was that she was doing this to help him on her day off, he had her coffee waiting as requested and she had set to work. The time was going on two o'clock when she hit a road block. She had searched through what seemed like all of the medical research text about moonstone that Mungo's had on hand, she still felt like there was a piece to their puzzle that was missing.

"You're kidding me, you don't have any other books on moonstone or other possible gemstone alternatives for potion use?!" Rose was quickly becoming frustrated with the resources she had at hand. The St. Mungo's library research assistant was not as helpful as she'd hoped. She had been reading and jotting down notes since 6:30 AM and it was now coming up on 3 PM. She was hungry, tired, and frustrated. She felt like her and Teddy were so close to the breakthrough that was needed to really make a difference in the lives of those suffering from werewolf bites. Putting a look on her face that was reminiscent of her mother, she levelled her gaze at the medical library assistant, "I don't think you quite understand the severity of the situation. We are so close to a break through and I have some of the information I need, but there has to be another book. There is always another book!"

"Miss Weasley I'm afraid I've already located all of the books that reference any uses of moonstone, I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything else that might be useful to you." As he spoke the man tried not to cower too far behind his desk.

"Yes well, you're not very useful are you." Rose scoffed.

Hearing a small chuckle behind her, Rose whipped around to be met by a family shade of blonde hair, streaked with a small bit of gray. "Miss Weasley, are you intimidating this poor man?" Draco stated simply with a slow drawl.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was just looking for a book." Rose smiled at the older man, she had met him several times over the years although she hadn't really spent much time with him. Scorpius always chose to come over to the burrow rather than stay at the Malfoy Manor.

Chuckling again, "Yes I heard that you were looking for a book."

Rose grinned sheepishly, feeling exceedingly under dressed compared to the fine suit the senior Malfoy wore. "Yes well, apparently I've run out of books." She paused for a moment, "I actually don't think that has ever happened to me before!"

Draco smirked, "I can't imagine that the daughter of Hermione Granger would ever run out of books!"

Rose shrugged crossing her arms, "I guess anything can happen once! What are you doing around St. Mungo's if you don't mind me asking?"

"I help fund some of the research department and I occasionally donate some old medical books when I find them in the collection at the manor," He handed several small books over the man behind the desk. "In fact, Miss Weasley, if you haven't found any books that are helpful here, why don't you accompany me back to the Manor? You can see what we have there and perhaps we have books in the old collection that would help?"

"Please Mr. Malfoy, call me Rose." It was then that Rose was struck with just how much Scorpius resembled his father. They had the same hair, although Draco's hair was graying. They had the same gray eyes though Draco's lacked some of the same warmth as his son's, likely due to his difficult past. "They've run out of books for me here, I'd love to see if you have any that would help."

Draco smiled, "Please Rose, call me Draco. Least you can do for being best friends with my son after all." With that Rose grabbed the notebook she had been hastily scribbling notes in and she was off in search of more books.

"Father?!" Scorpius called out as he wandered into the foyer of Malfoy Manor. He had received an owl at work earlier in the day asking him to come for their weekly dinner today instead of the following day. Wandering towards the sounds in the kitchen he rolled the sleeves up on his black auror standard issue shirt. Spotting his dad setting plates on the table, "Where's Finn? Is mum back from her trip?"

"Oh hey son," Draco glanced up at him then continued to set the table. "Finn is in the study, we have a guest." Finn was a large Irish wolfhound who normally felt it was his job to guard the manor, he typically greeted every single person to enter the house, barking wildly at the door. The exception to this normal greeting only tended to happen when Scorpius' mother, Astoria, was home. When Astoria was home, Finn almost never left her side. "Your mum won't be back for a day or two yet. But could you do me a favor and go grab our guest? Dinner is almost ready." He smirked as his son walked away with a quizzical look on his face.

Scorpius made his way down the hallway, his father usually wasn't this cryptic about anything. And if his mother wasn't here, then why was Finn suddenly not wanting to be a guard dog? He found his answer as soon as he rounded the corner and stopped in the doorway to the study.

The fire was lit in the grate and was crackling away merrily, throwing an orange glow over all of the books that lined the walls of the room. Curled into the corner of the couch in the center of the room was Rose, sitting cross legged with an old tome open on her lap and a notebook in which she was scribbling furiously balanced on her knee. Taking up the majority of her lap was the large grey head of Finn, he stared up at Rose happily who absentmindedly scratched behind his ears in between writing her notes. Scorpius watched for a moment. His gaze travelled over Rose, her hair was big and curly and flowed around her seeming to glow in the light from the fire. She looked out of place in the pristine elegance of the manor, she wore her loose and faded jeans and a very old baggy Gryffindor sweater. She looked out of place but yet she also looked like she was the one thing that was missing from the old study for many years. She brought a warmth and a life to the room.

Rose looked down at the dog staring goofily up at her and smiled, "Finn, what do you think? Do you think Ted and I are close to figuring out all of this moonstone business? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?" She giggled at her own joke and ruffled Finn's fur.

Scorpius leaned against the door frame with his hands in his pockets. "Well Rosie, at least you think you're funny!"

Rose whipped her head up to look at the man in the doorway. Finn also sat up to look at Scorpius with interest. "Oh Scorpius, I'm delightful and hilarious, even you can't deny it."

With an exaggerated eye roll he crossed his arms in front of him. "Want to tell me what you're doing here?"

"And ruin the air of mystery I have around myself? I don't think so!"

"My dad seems to think you're staying for dinner."

"Well Draco did invite me to stay for dinner."

"Oh, you two are on a first name basis now?"

Rose tried in vain to remain unaffected when he looked at her with that smirk and elegantly arched eye brow. Scorpius cut an imposing figure leaning against the doorframe surveying her. She wasn't sure how to handle being around him after their kiss. A small blush started to color high on her cheekbones as grey eyes continued to focus on her. "Yes well, I am charming you know. And we just established that I am delightful as well, it was only a matter of time until I won your dad over."

Scorpius took several steps into the room. "He bribed you with books didn't he?" Pacing to position himself behind her he leaned over her shoulder, close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. "Are you making progress on your research?" He enjoyed how even the tips of her ears turned red as he leaned closer to her.

She didn't dare look up into his face right now, he was too close for comfort. "I ran into your dad in the St. Mungo's library earlier. The research is slow, and I still feel as though we're missing something but I think we're getting close. These books of your dad's have been very helpful."

"Good, I'm sure you and Teddy are getting close to a breakthrough." He leaned away from her and reached to scratch Finn's ears. "We should go join my father for dinner though. Research or not, you still need to eat."

Dinner passed pleasantly. Draco told Scorpius how Rose had been intimidating the poor desk clerk when he had happened upon her. Rose told several stories and also several dirty jokes, one of which caused Draco to nearly spit out his wine. The conversation was easy flowing and relaxed. Scorpius tried not to stare at her across the table as they talked, she was just so distracting in the way she licked her lips after taking a sip of wine. He tried not to stare at her as she grinned devilishly at him after telling a joke. He tried not to stare at her as she threw her head back and laughed freely after Draco insulted all the posh members of the executive board for St. Mungos. He tried not to stare, but he failed miserably.

Rose enjoyed the way that grey eyes followed her every movement from across the table. As far as she could tell, Scorpius never took his eyes off of her. Her appetite was sated and she was feeling warm from the wine she had been drinking. Finn had set his head in her lap once she pushed her chair further away from the table so she lazily scratched behind his ears. "Draco the food was delicious. Thank you for dinner and thank you for letting me utilize your library as well its been very very helpful." She smiled graciously at the elder Malfoy.

"Please Rose, feel free to borrow any of the books if you need to. Besides you're welcome any time. Merlin knows you're much better company than this one here." Draco grinned and waved his hand in Scorpius' direction.

Rose leaned closer to Draco, "You know I've been telling him that for years!" She grinned and threw a wink towards Scorpius who rolled his eyes. Still smiling Rose stood and started gather plates and silverware from the table.

"Rose I'll get that, don't worry about it." Scorpius reached forward to stop her hands moving deftly around the table. When his large hand laid across her smaller one green eyes shot up to meet grey. A brilliant blush started to spread from her cheeks to her ears.

With a smirk on his face Draco cleared his throat. "Rose, Scorpius and I will get the dishes, please feel free to go back to the books if you want to." Rose nodded and withdrew her hand from under Scorpius'. She had a dazed look on her face as she wandered in the direction of the study, Finn following happily behind her. Scorpius' grey eyes followed her out of the room. "I can see why you're so smitten with her." Draco smiled.

Starting to collected plates from the table Scorpius refused to look at his father. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please, she's enchanting! She had Finn wrapped around her finger from the minute she walked through the door, and you know how he is, usually he's only that way with your mother." Standing to carry things into the kitchen Draco could hear his son following behind him. "Besides, she's quite pretty as well."

"Yes she's also a pain in the arse with a smart mouth that likes to argue." Scorpius set the plates down and scrubbed his hands through his hair roughly.

Draco studied his son, he had never see him this worked up over a woman before. "Your mother will love her. Besides, it's probably good that someone keeps you on your toes this much. You need someone that challenges you." Scorpius sighed but still wouldn't meet his gaze. "I'll do the dishes, go see if Rose needs help."

Running his hands one more time through his hair, Scorpius turned to head in the direction of the study.

Once again, Scorpius stopped in the doorway to survey the room. Rose faced away from him, reaching on tip toes to try to put a book back on a shelf above her head. As she stretched a small strip of ivory skin appeared above the waistband of her jeans. Scorpius desperately wanted to feel that small strip of skin. Walking quietly forward to stand directly behind Rose. He moved as close to her as he dared, hearing her breath catch as his chest met her back. Gently he took the book out of her hand, resting his other hand on her hip to meet that delicious stretch of bare skin, he reached above her head to place the book back on the shelf. He allowed his hand to trace down the spines of the books on the shelf in front of them before resting it on Rose's shoulder. The two stood quietly pressed together for several moments as Scorpius let his fingers dance in small circles on her skin.

"Rose?" He paused and his hands stilled. "Are you going to see that Stavros guy?"

Rose released a breath she hadn't realized that she was holding in. Her mind felt foggy, his warmth and his slightly woodsy scent was overpowering her from their nearness. "Should I?"

"No. You shouldn't go see him." His hand tightened possessively on her hip for a moment.

Leaning further backwards against him, "Okay I won't."

"Good."

"Yeah, good." Rose turned slowly to face him, allowing her back to rest against the bookshelf behind her. She glanced at his face, breath shallow from the nearness of him. Scorpius' eyes were dark, pupils dilated. One of his large hands still rested on her hip while the other now toyed with a stray curl that rested along her shoulder. There was barely any space between them now.

Scorpius looked down at the woman in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed and she watched him closely. Her eyes often darted to his lips as she licked hers nervously. He began to lean closer to her, "Rose I-" Suddenly his pocket started to vibrate and warm. He fumbled and pulled a coin from his pocket, looking at it closely. This was his coin from the auror department, he was being called in on a case. Of course the auror office would have the worst possible timing. "Rose I'm sorry, I, I have to go." He stared hard into her eyes once more, bringing his hand up to trace her cheekbone with his thumb. "I'm sorry Rose." With one last look, he turned and walked away to head back to work.

Rose stood still against the bookshelf for a moment longer. The air still felt heavy in the study, she had an ache low in her abdomen and wanted Scorpius' woodsy scent and warmth near her once more. Sighing, she knew she'd likely have dreams plagued with being pressed up against that very bookcase tonight.


End file.
